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Jody Denton, a self-described 鈥渃hili head,鈥� ran an experiment with his two young daughters, Ana and Olivia. As they grew up, he cooked their meals just a little bit spicier than they wanted.
They鈥檇 complain. He鈥檇 apologize. But the very next meal, he鈥檇 bring the heat.
Years later, his younger daughter Olivia 鈥� now 19 鈥� came home from college for the summer. Sitting at the dinner table with her dad, she asked him, 鈥淚s it possible you鈥檝e always been making my food a little spicier than I wanted?鈥�
Denton came clean. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 so cool,鈥� she told him, shocked. Of her friend group at school, she was the only one who could handle spicy food.
Denton fell in love with spicy food at an early age and now develops spicy snacks for Frito-Lay as a lead research chef for PepsiCo Global Foods.
From sriracha sauce to to Flamin鈥� Hot Cheetos, the characteristic heat of spicy food is in countless meals and cuisines. Sometimes, it鈥檚 a tangy sweet and spicy. Other times, it鈥檚 a nuclear sensation that can set your whole mouth on fire.
Denton and other chefs from local restaurants say Dallas-Fort Worth foodies have grown more adventurous over the years, going outside their comfort zones to try spicier dishes.
We decided to uncover the science behind the spice, find out how D-FW restaurants incorporate that characteristic heat into their dishes and answer the burning question: Is it possible to build a tolerance to spicy food?
What makes food spicy?
When we sip something hot in temperature, like soup or milk, nerve endings in our mouths activate and send a message to our brains: 鈥淭his is hot! Don鈥檛 burn yourself!鈥�
A similar process happens with spicy food. When we bite into a spicy pepper, for example, chemicals called capsaicinoids activate the same nerve endings in our mouths, producing a heat sensation even though we aren鈥檛 eating something hot in temperature. In other words, the capsaicinoids trick our brains into thinking something is burning in our mouths, even though it鈥檚 not.
Capsaicin is the most pungent of the capsaicinoids in a pepper, says Alissa Nolden, an assistant professor in the University of Massachusetts Amherst鈥檚 Department of Food Science. In graduate school, Nolden led an experiment that investigated.
Not all spicy foods are created equal, she explains. Jalape帽o and cayenne peppers contain capsaicin, but the heat in wasabi or black pepper stems from different chemicals that activate different nerve endings.
Nolden says scientists aren鈥檛 sure why some people can鈥檛 get enough of spicy food, while others can鈥檛 get far enough away.
For Anastacia Qui帽ones-Pittman, executive chef at Jos茅 in Dallas, cozying up to spicy food took time. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 eat a meal without having some sort of level of spice or something on the side to bite into,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut growing up, it just wasn鈥檛 my jam.鈥�
During her childhood, Qui帽ones-Pittman used to tie a red ribbon around a serrano pepper and place it near her father鈥檚 plate for Thanksgiving dinner as a joke, since he couldn鈥檛 eat a meal without heading to the fridge for a pepper to chew on.
Returning home to Dallas after college, Qui帽ones-Pittman gained a new appreciation for spicy food, won over by the flavors of roasted tomatoes and garlic in her family鈥檚 salsa.
At Jos茅, the restaurant鈥檚 aguachile, a seafood dish that usually features lime-cured shrimp or ahi tuna, is always served spicy. Their camarones a la diabla entree has a nutty spice and includes a guajillo puree and chile de 谩rbol, a small but potent Mexican chili pepper.
If guests like their dishes even hotter, the restaurant usually has one of three spicy salsas stashed away in the back. Jos茅's 鈥渒nock-your-socks-off spicy鈥� serrano, golden habanero and black habanero salsas are made for the staff, but Qui帽ones-Pittman says they鈥檒l bring one out if available when guests ask for that extra kick.
Spice, not spicy
Priya Shah, the catering director of Sawaii Indian Restaurant in Little Elm, grew up in Mumbai, India. She would frequent roadside stalls selling snacks like pav bhaji, a savory vegetable curry served on a bread roll; and pani puri, crispy palm-sized puris stuffed with potatoes, chickpeas and spicy mint-flavored water.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 how I grew up,鈥� she says. 鈥淕oing to school, coming back from school, [having] that spicy, tangy food.鈥�
The spice in Indian food is often misunderstood, she says. There鈥檚 a difference between the spices like cumin, cinnamon and black pepper in garam masala that give a dish its flavor, and the green and dry red chilies that bring the heat.
鈥淪pice is not spicy food,鈥� Shah explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a flavorful blend of spices, which is incorporated with the food.鈥�
Different regions of India incorporate different levels of heat into their food. When a guest orders malai kofta, fried vegetable balls in a creamy sauce, Shah says the dish can only be enjoyed at a mild to medium spice.
On the other hand, Sawaii鈥檚 Kolhapuri mutton 鈥� a goat dish from the state of Maharashtra 鈥� is a spicy favorite. 鈥淚t will make them just [say], 鈥極h my goodness, it鈥檚 very spicy, I鈥檓 sweating,鈥欌�� Shah says. 鈥淏ut they enjoy it.鈥�
Nikky Phinyawatana, owner of Dallas-based Asian Mint, says the best spicy Thai dishes to try at her restaurants are basil dishes like pad kee mow, or drunken noodles; and pad krapow, a chicken and shrimp basil stir fry. 鈥淚t is a softer, fresh chili spice that you鈥檒l even get to enjoy with the spice of garlic,鈥� she says.
The heat in Thai dishes usually comes from fresh Thai chili peppers or dry red chili peppers, Phinyawatana says. Fresh or dried white pepper and black or green peppercorns can also provide a kick.
Phinyawatana is also passionate about creating her own spicy sauces. She worked with a friend to create a spicy, crunchy chili called Drama Queen Crispy Thai Basil that won Best New Consumer-Ready Product at Zest Fest,
Can I build my spice tolerance?
Have D-FW restaurants seen customers increase their spice tolerance over the years? 鈥淥ne thousand percent,鈥� says Qui帽ones-Pittman. She says people may be traveling more and interacting with different cultures and cuisines that help them gain an appreciation for spicy food.
鈥淚 know it did for me,鈥� she says. 鈥淓very time I go to Mexico, there鈥檚 a salsa or a chili powder or something on the table. It鈥檚 definitely helped me appreciate it more.鈥�
Phinyawatana says with increased diversity comes increased exposure.
鈥淗aving the restaurant here going on the past 18 years, I have actually seen a progression of our clients being able to increase their spice level,鈥� she says, 鈥渇rom the first few days that we opened [and] the first couple of years.鈥�
Shah says it鈥檚 been exciting to see guests venture outside their comfort zones.
鈥淸Customers] ask me, and I literally warn them, 鈥楢re you sure you want it very, very spicy?鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淎nd they [say], 鈥極h, I want it Indian spicy. I don鈥檛 want American spicy.鈥欌��
Food scientist Nolden says the food we eat when we鈥檙e younger can help develop our preferences when we are older. (Just ask Denton鈥檚 daughter.) But for people who didn鈥檛 grow up eating spicy food, not all hope is lost. Repeated exposure to capsaicin, the chemical that makes some peppers spicy, can increase our tolerance.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e an adult and you鈥檙e choosing what you鈥檙e eating, and you start incorporating spicy food into your diet, you can definitely learn to [tolerate] spicy foods,鈥� Nolden says.
So it鈥檚 not too late to give spicy food a try, one hot pepper at a time.
Arts Access is a partnership between 四虎影院 and The Dallas Morning News that expands local arts, music and culture coverage through the lens of access and equity.
This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. 四虎影院 and The News retain full editorial control of Arts Access鈥� journalism.
Adithi Ramakrishnan is a science reporting fellow at The Dallas Morning News. Her fellowship is supported by the University of Texas at Dallas. The News makes all editorial decisions.